The present invention is directed generally to novel systems and methods for performing thin film deposition, and to optical devices manufactured using such systems and methods.
It is believed that in vapor deposition systems such as ion beam sputtering, magnetron sputtering, diode sputtering, thermal evaporation, electron beam evaporation, pulse laser vaporization and cathodic arc vaporization, atoms or molecules ejected from a target material are directed toward a substrate where they condense to form a thin layer of material on the substrate. In the case of an optical filter, this allows a user to create a device on a substrate with a single optical frequency characteristic. It would be beneficial to provide a system that enables a user to simultaneously deposit multiple thin-film structures on a substrate, each structure having a different respective thickness, in order to simultaneously create a series of optical filters with multiple optical frequency characteristics on the substrate.
The present invention is directed to a system and method for manufacturing thin-film structures disposed on a substrate. The thin-film structures have different respective thicknesses that vary along a radius of the substrate. A substrate rotates about an axis of rotation and a source of deposited material is directed at the substrate. A mask having a stepped profile is positioned between the rotating substrate and the source. The stepped mask selectively blocks material emanating from the source from reaching the substrate. Each step of the profile of the mask corresponds to one of the respective thicknesses of the thin-film structures. The radius, along which the different respective thicknesses of the thin-film structures vary, is measured from the axis of rotation of the substrate. The invention also includes an optical filter that is created by the disclosed system and method.